Work Text:
Akira woke to Morgana’s legs pressed onto his face, and he about threw his wonderful cat off his bed trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
He sat up straight and dizzy, swiping his hands around and shoving Morgana onto his lap in a crash boom bang. Akira looked at him, tired and confused, with an accusatory look of: my face is not a cat bed.
“Akira,” Morgana hissed offendedly. “You’re the one who asked for this!”
Akira started at him for a moment, rubbed his eyes and remembered, oh yeah, he did. He’d asked Morgana to wake him up this morning so he could get up without waking—
In a certain panic, he checked quickly to make sure he hadn’t fucked up his entire plan, but was met only with a sleeping Goro beside him. He took a deep breath and massaged his eyes again, sliding his hands down his face and to give himself a chance to wake up.
He glanced back down at Morgana and whispered, “Sorry,” before slinking out of bed and quietly sliding a pair of socks on. The two of them tiptoed out of the room, shutting the door as softly as possible, flinching at the decisive click.
Akira rolled his shoulders back a few times as he walked down the hallway and into the kitchen of their apartment. The oven clock said it was 8:37 a.m, which made Akira groan and wonder why Goro made it a point to wake up before 10:00 every morning. But for the sake of a little surprise Akira would grin and bear through it, with as much finesse and silence as possible.
On a whim the evening before, Akira had decided to make a fantastic breakfast in bed for Goro. It wasn’t a special occasion, just a pick-me-up to end a week that had been less than kind to him. There were surprises you could expect, and surprises that came from nowhere, and Akira hoped he could mold this one into the latter— if he were quiet enough, that was.
He’d very stealthily picked up a few ingredients yesterday night for today's meal; that being french toast with eggs and sausage links. He thought he might throw in a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee, too. It wouldn’t be that hard, though he wouldn’t say he specialized in breakfast food. But if it was for Goro, it felt more than worth it.
He got his stations ready. Set up a kettle and two pans, one for the eggs and one for frying the toast and sausages. Brewing the coffee would come last, but water took time to heat up. He prepared as well as he could, getting everything he needed in order for pouring the water over the grounds.
Morgana helped out a bit. He wandered around the counter and pulled ingredients he could reach to save Akira some time. It was nice, and soon Akira had his sausages cooking away, the pan heating up for the eggs, and his arm wrapped around a glass bowl for whisking the toast’s cinnamon mixture in.
Every little noise he made had Akira peeking around the corner, looking out to see if the bedroom door would squeak open. If he caugt Akira, just surprising him with a nice breakfast would be fine and all, but there was something special about it being in bed.
Morgana frowned after Akira leaned around the corner for about the millionth time. “He isn’t gonna wake up from you whisking too loudly,” he commented, lazily sitting on the far end of the counter. “If you don’t relax you’re gonna end up burning everything.”
Akira set down his bowl, frowning right back at Morgana. “I’m too good to let it burn.” He went to his eggs, and cracked them cleanly onto the heated pan, tensing obviously at the loud (though, admittedly super satisfying) sizzle. Morgana huffed at his reaction.
He seasoned the eggs, gave a good shake to the sausages, and went back to his french toast mix. He swiped his finger in to give it a tasting, and held his hand out to let Morgana trot over and try it, too. After they both decided on a little more vanilla, Akira dipped in two bread slices and set it next to the sausages on the pan, watching carefully for when they would begin to brown.
“You better make me something later,” Morgana said, earning him a good scratching underneath his chin. He might have to settle for only a slice of toast or two, but he’d bought a nice fancy loaf for this. That was already special in itself.
After letting them cook, Akira flipped the eggs, not quite carefully enough to keep the yolks from breaking. But that was fine; Goro liked them over hard anyways. He turned the heat down to give himself time to set everything up, and once the toast was flipped he did the same.
He took out plates, and then remembered he was positive they had some sort of tray he could pile them on. With a few cupboard doors flying open, he found one sitting under a whole stack of dishes. He tediously scooched it out from under, trying to keep quiet and avoid any falls.
Victoriously, nothing exactly fell. But when he pulled the tray out from under, dishes hit into each other with a clang and started to tip. He caught the teetering pile just as the kettle started to squeal.
“Geh!” Morgana said, tail sticking in the air. The kettle was getting louder, and Akira realized he had to act fast. He pushed the dishes back into the cupboard and slammed the door, firmly shutting them away before they could even think of trying to fall out. The accompanying bangs had been ruthless, but Akira didn't have time to worry. He slid over to the kettle and whipped it off the heat, the whistling dwindling down and the steam coming to a stop.
In one movement, he whipped his head over to check on his bedroom door. He leered at it, Morgana craning his neck out trying to look as well. They stared for a good ten seconds.
Safe, Akira thought.
In the calm that followed he set the tray down and settled the plates on top, adding silverware and a glass for the juice. The food was surely done by now, and Akira turned the heat off to scrape everything from the pans. He placed them neatly onto their own plates, nice and organized. With a few glugs of orange juice poured into the glass, he was just about finished.
His final step was the coffee, which even if he had fucked up everything else (which he hadn’t, because he really was too good for that), he knew he wouldn’t get this wrong. He prepared it just as he was taught, pouring carefully with a polished technique. He set the mug on the tray and looked proudly at his finished work.
With the quick addition of a syrup bottle and a sprinkle of powdered sugar (as brought up by Morgana), he was done. He couldn’t relish in his satisfaction long, though— this was something to be served hot, and a lukewarm meal wouldn’t dazzle Goro no matter how much love he put into it.
“Good luck,” Morgana hummed as Akira picked up the platter. Akira nodded at him in thanks, and quietly crept down the hallway, heart beating in his chest a little. He was excited to give it to him, and the anticipation was rising.
Akira did his best to open the door with his hands full (a quick maneuver entitled: if I press this against the door, then turn the knob, and then grab it again quick enough it’ll be fine, probably), and really wasn’t surprised to see Goro already awake. If not from all the clanging earlier, this was around the time Goro liked to wake up. But he looked sleepy still, his hair sticking up in a couple directions and a tired confusion on his face as Akira walked in confidently.
“Morning,” Akira said, smoothly closing the door with his foot. Goro’s expression was a bit priceless, eyes beginning to register what Akira was doing.
“Good... morning,” Goro greeted back, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. He looked a little suspiciously at the food. “...What do you have there?”
Akira sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling one leg up and resting the tray on his thigh. He gave a nervous grin. “I made you breakfast.”
“I can see that.” Goro propped himself further up, sitting with his legs crossed. He looked down at the tray, and then up to Akira, and raised his eyebrows. “So, what did you do.”
That got a laugh out of Akira. “I didn’t do anything. This isn’t an apology,” he said. Akira wondered what sort of malicious intent Goro was sensing from a plate of french bread. The thought was enough to make him snicker quietly again.
“Then what’s this about?”
Akira settled closer in and set the tray out onto Goro’s legs with a careful balance. He sat similarly criss crossed, entertaining himself from watching Goro's attempt at a scowl be betrayed by the sparkle in his eye.
“I know you had a pretty shit week,” Akira began. “So I just, kinda… Thought you might like this. A little surprise to end the streak.”
No matter how small it was, a smile finally curled its way onto Goro. He looked down at his food, keeping away from any eye contact. Akira was beginning to think this worked.
“Don’t tell me your plan now is to just sit and watch me eat,” Goro said, picking up a fork gingerly.
Akira grinned. “Well, the plan was to give you a nice and personal comfy breakfast, and then also sneakily wash the sheets while you were in the shower, or something,” Akira replied. “Unless you’re offering to share? I do keep on my toes for these sorts of things.”
Goro scoffed. “Of course not. Make your own.”
Akira laughed again while Goro had at the eggs. In a haughty scoop he took his first bite, and Akira watched earnestly. It wasn’t unoften that he cooked for Goro, but it was still nice to see him satisfied.
“Is it good?” Akira asked as Goro finished chewing.
Goro raised his eyebrows. “Obviously it’s good. When is something you make not good.” He went in for another bite, as if to make a point.
Akira felt a little pride well up in his chest. He didn’t disappoint, then.
“You don’t tend to like my special curry.”
Goro rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, my taste buds don’t have the same deathwish you do.” He popped open the syrup bottle and doused his french toast.
Akira watched Goro take a bite, and was happy to see his expression lighten. It was nice seeing him content, and Akira would always savor every second he could get of comfortable moments.
“I think the coffee turned out well,” Akira said as an offer, giving the cup a gesture. Goro got the message and held the mug in both hands, like he was taking in the warmth. He took a long sip, before sighing lightly.
“It did.” Goro took another sip while Akira smiled at the compliment. The sleepiness didn’t seem like it was quite out of Goro’s system, heavy eyes shutting as he drank up his coffee. It made Akira feel very cozy, watching him like this. He was just— relaxed. Safe. Akira was discovering more and more how he loved lazy mornings.
Goro looked down at the coffee in his hands, looking like he wanted to say something. Akira waited, since listening was certainly a forte of his, until Goro set the mug down carefully in front of him.
“...Thank you.”
Akira could feel his grin grow wide. “Anytime.”
Each bite Goro took made Akira happy, but it also was beginning to make his own stomach growl. He was a good cook, if he could say so himself, and a meal looked appetizing.
“Would you, uh… care if I ran out and made myself like, a slice of toast super fast,” Akira asked just a little sheepishly.
Goro quirked an eyebrow. “Did you really not make yourself anything?” And, after Akira shook his head, “I don’t mind. This is your own fault, you know.”
“It absolutely is,” Akira said with a chuckle. He got up carefully enough that he didn’t bother Goro’s breakfast and walked off to the door.
“Akira,” Goro interrupted. Akira stopped in his tracks, turning to look over his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows to prompt Goro on.
Goro was holding the coffee again, finger tracing up and down the edge of his mug. “I really…” he trailed off. Akira didn’t leave quite yet, and Goro took a deep breath before he went on. “Just... Thank you. I mean it.”
Akira smiled wide, feeling his shoulders raise up in an inhale. He let it out in a short chuckle.
“Well, I love ya,” he replied.
Goro pressed his lips together, and smiled. “I love you too.”